Method of making slide fastener elements



w. v. CHERY 2,989,803 METHOD or MAKING SLIDE FASTENER ELEMENTS June 27, 1961 Original Filed March 1, 1957 R 0 ml m M .1 mm W T! k v 3 0 m I n PM 2 M? Y B a/ a/ United States PatentQfiice 7 2,989,803 Patented June 27,1961,

2989,80?v V- e METHOD OF MAKIN SLIDE, r

Walter V. Chery, Meadville; Pa; Original application Mar. 1; 1957;-Sere No;'643;33 5.- -D1- vided and this application July-22,= 1959;-Ser. No.,

Claims. or. zi -41o.

, This invention relates to slide fasteners, and: more particularly to an improved fastener element therefor and method of making the same.

This application is a division-of application Serial No. 643,335, filed March 1, 1957. p v

In the manufacture of slide fastenerS it-is gthe, conventional practice to. provide a-series of interlocking fastener:- elements with each having aipair of; -spa :e.d -ap;art;leg or jaw portions by means'of which the elements areqclamped; or attachedto the beaded edge of ar'stringertape, The inner surfacesof the elements areusually straight and relatively smooth and at times tendfto bemoved or d lsrr placed along I the beaded edge after; repeated closing and; opening of the fastener eventually, resulting in anrinopera -l tive fastener, Not only, do the elements tendto become misplaced therealorlg but atvtimesttheytbecome displaced entirely therefrom which also ,:results in- -,a defecti ve 1 fastener. It isto an improved fasteners elemflnbandmethod; of making thesame that;the-presentinvention. relatesin order to-overcome the above mentioned =disadvanlagfifirso to provide an improved fastener; construction fItv is, the primary: objecttotthis,invention toprovide; an improved method of makingfastener elements for; slide. fasteners.- which increases materially the strength of the finished t fastener, i such, elements having the outward; ap pearance of the conventionaltype each having interlock-\- FIG.; r6 isl-asplan view of i a fastener element showing the-sarneattached to the stringer tape,-.and

FIG. 7- asectional-viewttaken on line-;7-7 of FIG, ,6 showingtwoielements,attached to the stringer, tape; I l

V A.machine ofthe type similar to that as di,sclosedqirr the patent to'GideonSundback; No. 1;467;015 granted September; 4; 192 3, canbe; most successfully; used-for practicing thepresentjnventionl In suchatmachine itsis necessary to provide-a wire rolled to a specialncrossiseez tion (substantially Y-shaped); The formed wirre visefed upwardly into themachine and substantially; Y Y-shaped; blanks are sliced successiyelyotfithe,end-thereof, bvmeans, of a cutting knife. The blanks are then moyedganrhposir tioned by, the cuttingknife in one. of; a; series of dies arranged around 1 the circumferential edgeof a rotatable dial; .After; the-blanks ,aregpositioned in the forming die;

in gcmeansyonthe head portionthereof;consisting of a;

projection and recess an d a paitof spaee fap W or; legs 7 at. the other end h for clamping {the} element; to; the; beaded edge ofa tape ,with'means; arranged on thednner; surfaces oft the jaws. or legs; to; aid in gripping-1 more;- securelyuthe beaded edge than injthegcpnyentionai typ /rot; element. a v j. a

his amore specific object of the presentfinvention itn provide -an improved method of making fastenergtelernentsg wherein there; is formed-in the {opposed {surfaces of; legv portionsIthereof; channels-gor grooyes,.;into;which; the; beaded I edge of the. ,-st ripgertape expands; when: the; leg;

portionsare clamped; to the beaded edgetherebwaiding;

intpreventing displacement ofithe el ment tberealongz ndr therefrom. a It is another, object of; this invention: totprovide an-gir'nw proved' method of making fastener; elementsifoigslide fasteners which is simple and inexpensiveiand; at: theisam'e; time, eflicient and effective, in its psacticem V Various other objects and advantages of this inventionv will be moreapparent" in; thewcowrse tot-s theiefollowing specification, and willbe particularly-pointed out in the appended claimsQ' l I 'Inithe accompanyingdrawingsflhere-is shown for, the purpose of illustration, an embodiment fwhich thvjhvbtitionmay assumeinupracticet I a l In these drawings: I r. s

p FIG. I is a sectionalviewof. apparatus for practicing my invention showing the, firstvstep. inputting the fastener element from the strip," K H H FIG. 2lis.,a sectionalview-'similartoFIG. 1, showing the second step in forming the element,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a fastener element before the same is attached to the stringer tape shown therebelow,

an interlocking recess and;projection' is;formed.yin; the head sport-ion thereof; by means of, a formingpunoh .so as; to-provide a finishedfastener elements The,-dialiis,,thenrotated and the jaw oryleg portionsqof the;elements-5am; clampedaround thebeadedjzedgerof a stringer; tap.e,,in a5 well-known manner; by meansgofsuitable sidetoolss,

In thetportionof the maehine illustrated in 13165;.

. through 40f the drawingsgthereisshowntazrotatablezdial Zhaving a forming die 3carried thereby., Forwardlyof:

the die 3, or to the left side as shown ;in.- FIGS. ,1 and ;2,,; there is; arranged a reciprocablecutting knifeA Inac; cordan'ce with thepresent'invention,there-is arranged-ton; the extreme end ofthis cutting knife;a1projecting portion 5-'for a'purpose' hereinafter to be described; ,"Ifhere -ist.v

positioned opposite the knife 4,: acutting oif die-6,. with which the-knife 4 co -operates to-cut blanks;;B;from;the formed strips as the, strip is; intermittently; moved up? wardly; therebetween; p I v Also, inaccordance with thepresent invention below; the knifeA, thereisrnounted in a reciprocable tool holder; 7a, a: forming tool 7 and; directly opposite tlre-:;,form ingtool on the opposite of th e;strip,-S; there lispos tioned ian; anvil-8 with which thetorrning tool Loo-operates to form a series of spaced apart grooves; or; channels '9; three; in; the; presents instance, in the .stripf-ina vmanner and for a: purposehereinafter,to bedescribed.

In practicing,the-invention, the-strip S flied-upwardly;

the forming tool 7 andtheopposedanvil 8; Asrtheistripr between the cutting knife 4andthe cutting elfdie "6;;and;

; S; is; fed intermittently upwardly; the f0rming;.tool 7. in

cooperation with the anvil "8lforms a grooves): hannh93 on theinner side of theleg portions of the; strip-S as-,tmore; clearly shownin FIG. 2:of=the.drawings;. -v,sirnultaneousl b witlithe forming of.,the groove-andchannel 9; atgblankasBjt" f I i'sflcutfifroni the upperzendof the forrnedstripst bywmeansi of-the cutting:knifeAdnco-operation wit-h:thfe.:.die 6. -'It-r' will be seemthat the projecting portion 5 of theiknifezi si positioned .inthe grooveor; channelqfiwhentheblankc isz cutfrom the strip. This groove or channel havingtbeen previously formed .thereinby the tool- 1. This-cut blank then fed upwardly 'atdistanc V fastener element imposition the-next;forming andq bfen 'forrne fwhich is substantially uponcontinued movement ,thereofi. The cuttings-knife; togetheri with the forming tool cuttingpperation onfthestripz I v s a result, willb seen thata v-sha ed; h ving o .ai

pair of "spacd apart leg or jaw pomtionsflfland' a head on the inner side of centrally thereof the which is preferably rectangular Y v 71am themov d;toaheir? retracted ppsltion, asshown in F lG 1, and th strip-S is; I

thehick e te ngle;

aims blau clB-rlrasg,

so as to provide relatively sharp of the intermediate portions of each of the leg portions 10 has a thickness in a transverse plane substantially lessthan the outer edge portions thereof. After the blank B is positioned in the forming die 3, there is formed on the head portion 12 thereof a recess 14 and a projection -15 by means of a forming punch 16 which cooperates with the die 3, as shown in FIG. 2, in a well known manner.

Thus, it will be seen that there is'now provided-a finished fastenerelement, as shown in FIG. 5, in readiness to be attached to the beaded edge 17 ofa stringer tape 18, It will be understood thattheforming die 3 together-with the fastener element positioned therein is then moved to an attaching station and the leg or jaw portions 10 of the element are clamped around the beaded edge 17 of the stringer tape 18 by a mechanism (not shown) so as to provide a fastener stringer, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings.

After the leg portions 10 of the fastener elements have been clamped to the beaded edge of the stringer tape, it will be seen that the beaded edge 17 tends to expand into 20 the opposed grooves or channels 9 of each of the elements, as shown in FIG. 7. By providing such an arrangement, it will be seen that these grooves or channels together with the sharp corners or shoulders 13 tend to aid in preventing the elements from being displaced along or longitudinally of the beaded edge of the tape which is the most important aspect of the present invention.

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that there is provided an improved interlocking fastener element for slide fasteners and method of making the same. The provision of these channels'or grooves 9 provides a fastener having increased strength and life and a fastener that is much stronger than any fastener now made by the conventional method. It will be noted'that these channels or grooves 9 in'the leg portions of the blanks together 30 with the projecting portion 5 of the knife with which they co-operate also aid to position the "blanks in the forming die. Another advantage of my method is that the tools for practicing the same are extremely simple and can be inexpensively and conveniently incorporated with existing equipment without the necessity of any material changes in the design or construction thereof.

-While I have shown and described an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely 'for the purpose of illustration and description, and that other formsmay be devised within the scope of my invention as defined inthe appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is: e

l. Themethod of making slide'fastener elements which comprises forming a substantially Y-shaped blank having a head-portion and a pair of spaced apart leg' portions, deforming the opposedinner'wall faces ofthe. legportions so as to formelongated channels thereimdeforming 55 the head portion so as to forminterlocking surfaces thereon, and finally attaching the formed element to the beaded edge of a stringer tape whereby the beaded edge" ei'rpands into the opposed channels of the leg portions of the element. v i 1 t:

'2. 'I'hemethodofmaking slide fastener'elementsfvjvhich comprisesforrning a substantially V-shaped blank having a head portionand a pair of spaced-apart le'g portions}: simultaneously deforming the opposed inner walll faces of" 4 the leg portions as to form elongatedchailnels therein; 65 positioning the deformed blank in {deforming Idiel wherein one side of the head portionis deforrliedsoas to form a recess therein and the opposite s ide thpereofii s deformed so as to form a corresponding fpiojection; thereonwhereby a finished lement is provi ed, an 70 finally attaching the formed element to the beaded edge of a stringer tape whereby the beaded edge expands into the opposed channels of the leg portions of the element.

3. The method of making slide fastener elements having a head portion and a pair of spaced-apart leg portions connected thereto which comprises deforming a strip of material into a c'ross'section conforming substantially to the contour of antindividual fastener element which is substantially Y-shaped incross section, deforming the opposed inner wall faces of the'leg portions of the strip at points spaced apart substantially the thickness of an individual element so as to form spaced apart elongated channels therein, and successively cutting blank members from the end of the strip so that an elongated channel is arranged centrally of each of the jaw portions of said blank.

4. The method of making slide fastener elements having a head portion and a pair of spaced-apart leg portions connected thereto which comprises forming a strip of material into a cross section conforming to substantially the contour of an individual fastener element which is substantially Y-shaped in cross section, deforming the opposed inner wall faces of the leg portions of the strip at points spaced apart substantially the thickness of an individual element so as to form elongated channels therein, successively cutting blank members from the end of the strip so as to provide a fastener blank having spaced-apart leg portions and a head portion and having an elongated channel arranged centrally of each of the jaw portions of 'each of said blanks, deforming the head portion so'as to form interlocking surfaces on the head portion of each of said blanks whereby a finished element is provided, and finally'attaching the formed elements to the beaded edge of a stringer tape whereby the beaded edge expands into the channelsin-theoppos'ed leg portions of each of the elements. j

5. The method of making slide fastener elements having a head portion and a pair of spaced-apart leg portions connected thereto which comprises forming 'a strip of material into across section conforming to substantially the contour of an individual fastener element which is substantially Y-shaped in cross section, simultaneously deforming the opposed inner wall faces'of the leg portions of the strip at points spaced apart substantially the thickness of an individual element so as to form elongated channels therein, successively cutting blank members from the end of the strip so as toproVidea fastener blank having spaced-apart-leg portions and ahead portion and having an elongated channel arranged centrally of each of the leg portions of each of said blanks, positioning the deformed blanks in 'a deforming diewherein one side of the headportion is deformed so as to form a recess therein and'the opposite side thereof is deformed so as to form a corresponding projection thereon whereby finished fastener elements areprovided, and finally attaching the elements to the' beaded edge of a stringer tape whereby the beaded edge-expands into the channels in the opposed leg portions of each of the elements.

Refer'enees Cited in the'file' of-this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS j,

1,467,015 Sundback,(A) Sept. 1,1923 ess-s20 S llndbaCk -1- l. Dec.20, 1927 1,991,321 Gilmore Feb. l2,"l935 2,075,762 Kelley "Mar. 30, 1937 2,508,782 Carlile z Ma /{23, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS: Y

6 49,7 17. I; Germany Sept. 1, 1937 

